Opal Group Business Development Associate
Pros
There were many great experiences from this role. One in particular was having the opportunity to strengthen my skills in client engagement and understanding the importance of building strong relationships with clients. It was rewarding to play a major role in organizing a successful conference. Being part of the entire event cycle from start to finish by calling potential clients to purchase tickets to attend our events while securing sponsorships from various organizations, to attending all our confrences as a top producer felt great to see my hard work come together. Once we had enough attendees and sponsors, I was able to travel to attend these conferences all over the world to ensure the event ran smoothly. Being on site during these conferences, I had the privilege to engage with my clients face to face and listen in on panel sessions from leading experts in the field. Hearing all the positive feedback about how much all my clients enjoyed the conferences was a great feeling.
Cons
With all business development roles, there are going to be times where you face rejection. I was rejected many times from potential clients who did not want to come to our event. That being said, it was important to not get discouraged by rejections. I learned to not take it personal and move on to the next potential lead. One piece of advice I took with me that was very helpful was to try and find out what their restraints are for not being able to attend and see if theres anything I can do to accommodate them to try and change their mind to convince them how they can benefit from our services.
